Demonic Warfare
by Nanoman94
Summary: After the events of DMC, the line between limbo and the real world is blurred- But so is the line between dimensional planes. Now, the prestigious (and completely OC) Task Force 156, the Skyrunners, must do battle with the demons and their plans to control their world. Rated T for severe language (mainly by Dante) and combat scenarios.
1. Point of Contact

_~Point of Contact~_

_April 21__st__  
8:00 am  
Rocky Mountains, Colorado Airspace  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

"You boys ready?" The pilot of the harrier called back to us. "Drop zone in five minutes." I nodded silently. Looking down at my weapon, a KSG-12 shotgun modified to shoot whole slugs, I thought about how strange the mission was this time around. We'd be going on home turf in the US, to investigate strange anomalies recorded in the Rocky Mountains. Normally we'd be given a further briefing, but the techies wanted to keep everything on the down-low.

I glanced around at my team. Skye was off near the back, silent as ever as he cleaned his factory-issue MSR sniper rifle. The rather pale-skinned man always stuck near the back of the team watching both ahead and behind for danger. I saw him grab a suppressor from a pouch on his belt, attaching it to the front of his rifle.

Raiden was busy chatting with the other member of the team, Angel. Raiden was a darker tan than Skye, and he joyously laughed while gripping his ACR 6.8. not one to follow regulation, he modified everything about his gun, from altering the barrel to look jagged and war-torn, to a grip for greater accuracy. He even painted the damn thing with flames in the literal sense, to give it a charred-black look.

Angel was the last member of our team. Fair-skinned and determined, she's one of the first female soldiers on a specialized combat team. Or, rather, the first. Don't let her looks fool you, however; she's as deadly as she is beautiful. She was busy trying to ignore Raiden's advances, absorbing herself in a small book. She always kept one on her to keep her occupied, and today was no different as her trusty FMG9's rested on the seat next to her. She liked to multitask, and two identical weapons let her do just that on the battlefield.

I stood up after looking out the window, and addressed the team. "Alright, guys," a small huff from Angel reminded me, "and lady, we're two minutes from the drop zone. Is everyone ready, or did I need to bring some diapers along for the ride?"

"Dirge, I've been ready since we got the assignment. When do we go?" Raiden called out, strapping his weapon to his back. Skye simply nodded, as he followed suit with his own gun.

"Some angels like to stay in heaven. This one's ready to drop feet first into hell." The woman of our group said, causing a chuckle from Raiden and groans over the bad joke from Skye and myself. She laughed to herself, slipping her book into a pocket on her sleeve and clipping her guns to her waist. I nodded, and hit the release button for the bay doors of the harrier.

"Alright, then. Drop in three, two, one… mark!" I commanded, as we ran out the back of the harrier. Jumping off, I can tell you safely that there's nothing like free-falling to get your blood pumping. "Deploy wings on my mark." I called out over the comm. in our helmets. I waited a few seconds, then shouted, "Mark!" while pressing my arms to my sides. When I released them from my side, a thin membrane of fabric was stretched between them, causing me to glide through the air.

Hell, the boys in the lab thought it fit to call us 'Skyrunners' after our unique method of dropping into the thick of things. It was easier to get into places that helicopters and harriers had trouble landing in, that was for sure. And it intimidated the hell out of hostiles to see us fall out of the sky and start kicking ass. Either way, we hit the ground below on a relatively flat area on one of the inner mountains of the range.

"So, Dirge," Raiden said, "What exactly are we here for? Isn't recon more Ghost Squad's thing?"

"It is, but the guys higher up wanted us to go; they're afraid this could turn ugly fast." I slapped my arms to my sides again, detaching the membrane from my arms. "And we're good at handling ugly situations." I turned to the valley we landed near, the source of the strange anomalies the techies found. "Alright. Skye, I want you up on this ridge. Take some photos of what you can, but fire only when commanded. And have a flare ready to signal our ride home." The sniper nodded, setting up camp on the edge of the cliff. "Raiden, Angel, you two with me. I'll take point."

My shotgun was held tense in my hands. If what was down here scared the jelly out of the locals, I'm sure it's not too pretty to get close to. "So," Angel asked, "We don't have any idea of what to expect down here?"

"The guys who found the anomalies said it was similar in nature to strong electromagnetic pulses, similar to those new EMP grenades we started using. The catch is that it matches our own EMP grenade signature to a fault." I said back.

"So we could be dealing with terrorists here? Sounds like Tuesday." Raiden joked. Over the mike, a groan from Skye could be heard. I shrugged, keeping my weapon ready. At the bottom of the valley, I motioned for us to fan out, and radio when we saw something suspicious.

"Dirge, check your six. Movement." I heard Skye's voice say over the comm. Slowly turning, I spotted a small creature moving in the undergrowth. It was a dark, purplish-gray skinned thing. It closely resembled a dog, but had thinner limbs, larger, bloodier eyes, and sharp fangs. The small scanner the techies gave me before I left went off, identifying this guy as the anomaly.

"Hey there… what in Luna's name are you?" I asked. "Guys, I found our anomaly." Raiden and Angel regrouped with me, and we all bent down towards the creature. Carefully, I reached out to touch it, only for it to howl out loud with a blood-curdling screech. After it finished, I could hear growls all around us. More creatures like the first appeared, surrounding us. Their growls were drowned out, however, by two far larger, white-furred ones.

"Looks like we woke up mom and dad." Angel said. The creatures jumped us, only to fall back after seeing their comrades hit by our gunfire.

"Skye, get rid of the big ones!" I shouted over the comm. I barely saw a shot slice through the side of one of the larger ones, before I launched another slug at the head of a smaller one. Angel's dual guns seemed o be effective against them, able to take on more than one at a time. Raiden took on one of the larger ones, holding it back with suppressed fire.

Another MSR shot cut through the head of the creature Raiden was fighting. "Come on, Skye, that was totally my kill!" The disgruntled soldier said. Laughter could be heard over the comm. Another roar, this one more like a panther, cut out. The other large creature was glowing gold, and it spun rapidly in the air, only to shoot out at Raiden. The attack was devastating, ripping through his uniform and drawing blood out the gut.

I charged it, slamming its head with the end of my gun, only to flip the weapon around and shoot the creature point-blank. "You okay, Raiden?" I asked, turning to my friend.

"I'll be fine, just give me a minute." He replied. More and more of the smaller dog things attacked us in the meantime, and I was nearly out of ammo.

"I can't hold on much longer, this is my last clip!" Angel shouted, using both hands to steady her remaining gun. Lucky for us, Skye had shot the last one in the area by the time my gun clicked to say it ran out of shells.

"So… what now?" Angel said, dropping to her knees to rest.

"Skye, signal for the harrier. Angel, grab Raiden and help him up the cliff. I'll grab a corpse or two to bring back for the techies."

_~End of Segment~_

_Two hours later  
The Pier, Trailer #2  
Dante_

"…and that's why you need to check this out!" Kat finished. Honestly, I don't think I was paying much attention to her. I was too focused on how lucky I got last night with a couple of angels at the club last night. Due to my recent heroics, the entire city has become a sort of demon-free zone, and the humans can live in relative peace here. That includes me, even though I'm not exactly human.

"Sorry, Kat," I said, cleaning out my ear. "I'm afraid I kind of dozed off when you got into the more technical stuff. That just isn't my style. I've got a sword, just tell me where to swing it." After Vergil disappeared, I was in charge of the demon-killing buisness. The army helped, of course, but I was the main thing that kept those assholes out.

"Alright, I'll give you the short version." Kat said. She's become pretty much the greatest help I could ask for, able to cast certain spells with her fancy spray paints to help me along. She also helps me get to where the demons are, as I still don't know how to drive. "You know the group of Rages that lived just outside the city?"

"Yeah, that happy little family of fuckers. Why?"

"They disappeared just yesterday."

"So?" I asked. "I mean, killing demons is common practice around here now. Shouldn't we be glad some got the hint and ran off?"

"That's the thing, Dante. They didn't run, there's no tracks. They just… vanished." Kat said. "Think of what this implies- they've learned to teleport like a dreamrunner. And that's dangerous."

"So we need to go check out their cave, and see if what they did was teleportation. If so, figure out where they went and kick their asses. Am I right?" Kat nodded. "Then let's go."

_~End of Chapter~_

Note from the author: I'm trying something different here, a little something out of my comfort zone. This fic combines two games I really thought could be cool to mix, Call of Duty (specifically MW3) and DMC: Devil May Cry (The new one. If you're a fan of the old one who hates the new one just because Dante's hair isn't white, fuck off). If this gets good reviews, I'll continue it and see where it goes. If not, it goes to the scrapyard. See y'all next time ~Nano


	2. Demons

_~Demons~_

_April 22__nd__  
6:00 am  
The Pentagon, Lower Research Division  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

I awoke from my slumber rather suddenly. We had arrived back to D.C. with the creatures' corpses pretty late last night, so the techies let my squad and myself take the bunks located here. We had little to change into, so I simply slept in the undershirt and boxers of my uniform. I quickly threw on some pants and shoes, only to find my team had already left the bunk room. I could hear some talk down the hallway, so that's where I'll go.

"…and then the big ones jumped us," I heard Raiden say. "But my unique brand of ass-whooping helped us through it!"

"Oh please," Angel said, cutting him off. "You were the first to tuck your tail between your legs and cry for mommy!"

"Shut up, both of you," Skye said. He still wasn't talkative. "I still have a migraine from your shouting match last night." A chuckle came from the techie in the room. Although not officially part of Task Force 152, we considered Sonata a full member of the Skyrunners due to us being in constant contact with her. She always studied what we brought back, and she was often the one on the other end of the comm. link to oversee our missions. She even designed our flight suits.

The woman in question wore a white lab coat, as befitting her current activity of dissection, while glasses rested in front of her brown eyes. Her hair was long and a dark chestnut, tied in a bun currently to keep it out of her way. "I see our fearless leader is alive and well." She said, resuming the stabbing of the corpse.

"Yeah, more or less. Did you find out anything unusual from the bodies we brought back?" I asked. Buisness before pleasure, that was Sonata's motto.

"Their bone structure appears to resemble a dog's, but with some feline characteristics. This one has a gland the others didn't, though. It's the small blue organ here. It seems to be similar to the appendix of us humans, but I'm not sure. This is the only one of the three that has it, after all." She stated, while still cutting into the creature. "It's blood also lacks hemoglobin, and instead contains an unknown compound, which gives it the black color it is."

"Interesting." I said. "What do you think that blue-" at that moment, the base shook, and the alarms went off.

_"Attention all personnel, there is a breach in the laboratories! Repeat, hostiles in the-" _the soldier's announcement was cut off with his death throes.

"Head to the bunks, get your uniforms and weapons back on, double-time!" I commanded, indicating all of us. Sonata followed suit, calmly pulling a USP .45 out of a pocket inside her coat. She slid a magazine in it when we reached the room I awoke in. My team and I threw on our clothes in record time (save Raiden, as he tried to sneak a peek at Angel) and I loaded my weapon to maximum capacity before exiting the room again.

"Let's do this quickly and cleanly." Skye said. His sniper rifle wouldn't be a viable weapon inside the base, so Angel tossed him one of her machine pistols. "Not my first choice, but it's better than nothing."

A soldier ran down the hallway, his arm obviously injured. "What's going on over there?" I asked, shouting over the alarm buzzers.

"There's these things, they just appeared!" He said. "They're not human, hey took out my whole squad!" he was about to add in more, but was shot in the back. The culprit was a small, flying baby-like thing with a crossbow of all things in one hand.

Sonata was the quickest on the draw. She shot once, the bullet cleanly slicing through its head, and the creature fell to the ground. "Another creature, another lovely experiment." She said, sending shivers down my spine with her morbid humor. We headed down the hallway the soldier ran from, Angel and Skye shooting down three more of those crossbow things.

That's when we found the main battle - in the war room. Our enemies lacked guns, but were ferocious in numbers. Many lay dead on both sides, both humans and… things. These new creatures resembled humans, but with white, porcelain-like bodies, no faces, and a sharp, single-edged cleaver for one arm. More of the flying ones flitted around, taking pot shots, but many of them missed.

"Skye, take the high ground with Angel. Stay here, Sonata, and try not to die. Raiden, you're with me- we're getting up close and personal." My orders were fast and carried out faster. Black blood erupted in a spray around me as I introduced a creature's head to a shotgun slug. Nearby, the sound of a firing ARX let me know Raiden was doing his fair share of the carnage.

We charged straight through the enemy lines, clearing out most of the ground floor. They seemed to be coming out of the DEFCON room, and Raiden and I wouldn't have support from Skye and Angel after going in. Nevertheless, we managed to get inside the room, killing a few dozen more monsters in the process. The room contained a few more creatures, these with blue feathers coming off their heads and large, serrated blade-arms. It also contained what I assume was their leader- a human-like being, but his forearms and hair glowed a light cyan. His eyes were pure white as well.

"So, you are the ones killing my demons. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man said.

"Who the fuck are you," Raiden started, "And how did you get in here?"

"My name, you ask? Vergil." The man said. "I arrived here with powers you petty humans don't yet understand."

"Petty humans? And what are you then?" I asked, shouldering my shotgun and aiming at his unnaturally colored head.

"I am a god." He stated flatly. He pulled a sword out of nowhere, blocking the bullets and slugs Raiden and I fired constantly. Not a single one managed to hit the target. "But I seem to have missed my target destination. I'll be taking my leave now." Without another word, he and the rest of his forces (demons, he said) disappeared in flashes of light.

"Hey, Dirge?" Raiden asked.

"What?"

"Why do I get the feeling we just got dumped on?"

_~End of Chapter~_

Author's Notice: A kind of short chapter to move things along. This story was just a test by me at first, so a solid storyline isn't quite set yet. Bear with me for the first few chapters while I get to setting one in stone. ~Nano

Editor's Note: the above notice is author talk for "I'm making this shit up as I go along." Nothing more. ~Sheogorath


	3. Hunted and Hunter

Author's Note: I will take liberties with locations. Some locations from games other than MW3 and DMC 5 will be used to mesh the story together. For example, the locale used in this chapter will appeal to COD: Ghosts fans.

_~Hunted and Hunter~_

_April 27__th__  
0:30 am  
Northern Alaska, Nightfall Research Base (Decommissioned)  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol _

"Commander," Angel called over to me, from inside our harrier. "Can you tell me again why my hot ass is out here freezing over?"

"Our orders are to investigate the anomalies that were detected at the old research base. Since we've already dealt with these more than any other squad, we've become the go-to strike team for these missions." I replied, loading another slug into my gun. In truth, there had been four more attacks on U.S. soil alone since the incident at the Pentagon. And we'd been there for all of them.

"What did they used to research, anyway?" Raiden asked. "I mean, it was abandoned for a reason, right?"

I shook my head. "Some say it was aliens. I honestly don't care. There are still a few soldiers posted there to defend viable data, and have the base act as a fallout shelter for VIP's." Raiden shrugged in response, loading a fresh clip in his ACR. "We're dropping just outside the base, as the inside is covered by anti-air guns. In this snowstorm, we could be mistaken for hostiles and I'd rather not take that chance."

_"You're reaching your destination, team. Get ready to drop." _I heard Sonata say over the comm. My squad was already ready to drop when the hatch opened up, letting the harsh winds of the north blow inside.

"Ladies first." Raiden said, looking at Angel. She blew a raspberry at him, then proceeded to jump out the back of the harrier. Skye calmly walked to the edge, saluted, and fell backwards out of the harrier. "Oh, come on, you show-off." Raiden called, before thinking he had to do better. He ran towards the exit, stopped for half a second to turn around, and back-flipped out of the plane.

I laughed, before following suit and diving out of the plane. One quick wingsuit flight later, and I caught up to my team outside of the tunnel leading to the Nightfall research base. _"Skyrunners, this is Sonata. Your orders are to enter the base and find out what those anomalies are. If they're the damn demons again, kill them and save as many of the base's guard as possible."_

"Roger. We are now entering the base." The tunnel to enter the base was long and dark. I could barely make out the other end. At least we didn't have to deal with the wind while inside.

"Why can't these things happen in the Bahamas or something? Why did it have to be in the dammed cold?" Angel complained.

"What, did you want to kick demon ass in a bikini?" Raiden asked.

"Dream on, loverboy. I'd never trade my uniform for something that skimpy. At least when I'm in front of you." Skye chuckled to himself at the comeback. I simply rolled my eyes as we made our way to the tunnel's exit. A high, chain-link fence greeted us. It blocked all entrance to the base.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" A voice called out. It belonged to a base guard, and he ran up to us with a Maverick assault rifle in his hands. The new weapon was issued only to the Nightfall guards and other northern bases so far, as it handled better in colder weather. "Are you guys the response team?"

"We are. What's the status of the base?" I asked as he opened the gate for us.

"Not good. Those things that have been popping up everywhere are here too. Thing is, there's two new ones we haven't seen before." He ushered us to a smaller office. Angel thanked the deities above for the indoor heating. "For some reason, they won't leave the main lab. However, the two new ones are making things difficult for my team. There's one with twin swords able to deflect bullets, and a very large one that can disappear into the shadows."

"Able to block bullets?" I asked. A nod in return. "Then we'd best be prepared. What do you have in terms of melee combat?" The soldier walked over to a cabinet, and withdrew a small duffel bag. Unzipping it, he pulled out the standard combat knives, some with better grips, and some designed for throwing. Among them was a medium-sized machete and a few butterfly knives.

"I'll take those." Angel claimed, grabbing two of the butterfly knives. She tested them out, opening and closing the sharp blades with ease. "My daddy used to teach me how to use these. To ward off unwanted men." She said the last line while looking directly at Raiden, who was too busy playing with sharp objects to notice. He strapped as many throwing knives as he could to his armor, the exact number escaping me.

Skye simply shrugged and reached behind him. From a sheath on his back, he pulled out a very large, serrated combat knife. It looked almost as big as the machete on the table. "Snipers are always prepared." He said matter-of-factly.

I myself grabbed a single combat knife. Wouldn't do me much difference; my gun was designed for close-range combat, so I'd have trouble adjusting to using a blade. "Thank you for the info and the weapons. We'll be heading out now." The soldier saluted, and the three of us crossed the courtyard to the main entrance. Sounds of combat could be heard inside, and the screams of multiple creatures (human and otherwise) reached my ears.

_"Alright team. Scans show a large hostile force inside the base." _Sonata informed us. _"However, a larger life form, larger than any other we've seen, is located on the north- no, wait, the south… the west..? It's jumping all over the place. Be careful, team."_

"Roger, Dirge out." I said through the comm. "Alright team, listen up. Raiden, the other guards are in there somewhere, I want you to find them. Angel, you're with me, we'll keep the bastards off him. Skye, do what you're damn good at and cover us from higher up."

"Ooh-Rah!" Raiden cheered. "Let's kick some ass!" Angel and I ran in first, guns blazing. A few of the human-like ones, called 'stygians' by Sonata, took the full frontal force of a few shotgun shells and fell backwards. Two of the fliers, named 'archangels' by Sonata, aimed their crossbows at us, only for Angel's rapid flurry of bullets to rip them to shreds. Skye had climbed a ladder near the side of the room, and proceeded to take out one or more hostiles with each shot.

"MoRe FoOlIsH mOrTaLs… WeLcOmE tO mY dEn Of ShAdOwS…" A deep, menacing voice called. "YoUr KiN hAvEn'T gIvEn Me A gOoD hUnT…" a shadowy aura filled the room, encasing it with a dark purple mist. Angel and I turned on our feet, to go face-to-face with the _ugliest_ son-of-a-bitch ever. It opened its mouth with a smile. "TrY nOt To DiSaPpOiNt." It pulled out the biggest blade so far, complete with brass knuckles in the hilt to have a better grip.

It swung, and Angel and I barely managed to roll out of the way. Skye shot bullet after bullet, until his magazine ran out. _"Skyrunners, that isn't working, he's bulletproof."_

"How the hell-" I started, dodging another knife swipe, "Did you figure that out?"

_"Skye's MSR fires .300 Magnum bullets. If that thing isn't bleeding after a single shot, it's got to be bulletproof. Try to find a source of fire; that usually works to soften up armor." _Sonata called over the comm. Frantic, I searched around, stowing my shotgun for better mobility.

"How are you doing with those soldiers, Raiden?" I practically shouted over the comm.

_"I found the guards. Most of them are dead, but two are still breathing. One of those sword-things we heard about showed up, though."_ I heard. _"Don't worry, I've got this motherfucker." _ Several gunshots could be heard, controlled burst fire of an assault rifle echoing in the room.

"YoU wIlL dIe HeRe… PiTiFuL hUmAnS." The giant creature said. The problem? I believed him.

_~End of Segment~_

_Same Day  
Outskirts of Limbo City  
Dante_

"So, this is what a Rage's nest looks like?" I asked as Kat led the way into the small cave. "Seems creepy enough. Definitely got the décor right." I pointed out a few human skulls in a corner of the room.

"Eew. Dante, please don't point out stuff like that." Kat said, visibly shaken by the sight. She righted herself, seemingly sensing the air. "I do feel something… a disturbance, perhaps…"

"In the force?" I asked, receiving an actual, genuine smile from the girl.

"Actually, yeah. The ley lines of the world… as a witch, I'm magically attuned to the natural frequencies of the planet." She said, going into 'lecture mode.' "Those ley lines let me- or rather, used to let me- find the portals to limbo. Now, I feel a bigger disturbance than that… almost like another world entirely."

She walked along the wall of the cave, stepping over the remains of various creatures. "And… here is where it's strongest. I'm not sure, but I think I can open up a portal here." She turned to me. "Should I?"

I thought for a second. "Kicking demon ass in another world? Sounds like a real party to me. And a party just ain't a party without me." Kat laughed a little, then unrolled a piece of parchment from her bag. She shook up her trusty spray can full of squirrel semen and other ingredients (odd that I'd remember that one specifically) and sprayed down the spell.

"Alright, that should work. You sure about this? You might not be able to come back…"

"Then come with me. You can open a portal back from the other side, right?" She nodded. "And I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you. Promise."

"…okay." She said. Kat walked over to me, and I grabbed her in a hug and stood on the portal. It flashed with the magical aura it did any other time I used it, and the next instant, I was in some sort of building. A purple haze filled the room as two humans, a guy and a hot girl, did battle with a hunter demon.

"Well, mind if I cash the party?" I shouted, reaching behind my head. "'Cuz it's time for a little Rebellion!" only, something was off.

Rebellion wasn't on my back.

_~End of Chapter~_


	4. The Man in the Red Coat

_~The Man in the Red Coat~_

_April 27__th__  
1:23 am  
Nightfall Research Base, Main Laboratory  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

"It's time for a little Rebellion!" a male voice echoed. I hesitated for a second, only two see two civilians in the room. One of them was male, in a long red jacket, and the other was a girl, wearing a blue hoodie and very short shorts. "…What..?" The guy muttered again, as he reached for something that wasn't there.

"Stay back, both of you!" I shouted. "I'm not sure what you two are doing here, but stay away from that thing!" to my surprise, the man (He looked no older than 25) pulled out twin pistols and began firing on the giant creature in a few seconds.

_"Dirge, I've located some explosive ammo that works with my gun. Sonata said something about things going boom, right?" _Skye called over the comm.

"Alright, now we need to find out its weak point, and then use those explosives on it." I said.

"You gotta do better than that." The strange man said. "A hunter Demon is a powerful one. To put it scientifically, you need to blow its brain out its ass." The man continued fire with his pistols while the young woman hid behind a few crates. A sharp crack filled the air as one of Skye's supercharged bullets hit the (apparently named ) hunter demon in its face. I saw a scar open up, the inside area a fleshy red.

"Angel, cover me. I'm going to do something really stupid." I called out to my teammate. She nodded, firing both machine pistols at its head. I ran towards the thing, jumped over a knife swing, and unloaded five consecutive slugs into the creature's scar. I then was knocked out of the way by the thing's backhanded swipe, skidding across the ground until I stopped next to the red-coated man.

"Hey, man, are those standard issue in your military?" He asked while helping me to my feet.

"What, my gun?"

"No, those brass balls you're wearing." A laugh from Angel nearby meant she had overheard the joke. "Because that was both one of the stupidest and one of the coolest things I've seen a guy do when fighting a demon."

"You know these things personally?" I asked, stowing my gun to a magnetized portion of my suit. I had run out of ammo with that last barrage.

"I kill these motherfuckers for a living where I'm from. Name's Dante, by the way. The girl over there is Kat." He said, reaching into his coat. "Try this, I call it 'Revenant'." Dante held out a gun to me, a small weapon that looked like a sawed-off shotgun.

"Thanks." I replied, taking aim at the demon. There was a ton of recoil, and it almost blew my arms off because I hadn't expected it. Te demon simply shrugged off the blast and I looked for a way to reload the shotgun I was given. I found no such device, no clip or break in the barrel, so I experimentally pulled the trigger once more. The gun fired again, and again the next time I tried. "What the hell…?" Deciding not to question the lack of reloading, I continued my assault on the demon.

_"I could use some help with this ugly motherfucker over here!" _Raiden almost bellowed out of the Comm. _"None of my shots are hitting him!" _A sharp crack filled the air as Skye shot a round off to the other side of the facility. _"Thanks for stealing my thunder!"_

"I thought you wanted help, little man!" Angel replied for Skye. She herself was on her last clip in her guns, and when they ran dry, she tossed both of her machine pistols at the demon's face and pulled out her knives. The firearms merely bounced off his face, leaving not even a bruise. The Hunter Demon crouched low and swiped with his knife fast, and a gash appeared on Angel's stomach.

"Angel!" I shouted, jumping over to her. She had fallen to the ground and was losing a lot of blood. I grabbed her limp form and started dragging her to the outskirts of the battlefield, near to where Kat was. "Can you help her? I'm not exactly the best medic."

"I'll do what I can. I've had some training in first aid." She replied, pulling a tube of gauze from a holster on her waist. It was next to a spray can of some sort. Deciding to help her out by defending her, I joined Dante on the battlefield once more. Skye's sniper rifle fired off another shot at it, the bullet hitting at an angle to tear off part of the Hunter's face.

The demon recoiled in shock, and clutched his bleeding face. He let out a primal roar, and turned to face us. "YoU aRe MoRe TrOuBlE tHaN iT's WoRtH." He said, backing up. The purple smoke around the area started to vanish. "We HaVe WhAt We CaMe FoR. gOoDbYe, HuMaNs…" he leapt out of the building, and any surviving demons followed him out of the area.

_"They're turning tail and running!" _Raiden called out. _"Should we go after them?"_

"Negative, Raiden." I replied into the comm. "We're low on ammunition and Angel is badly wounded. I'm ordering evac from Sonata to meet us here." I turned to face Dante. "And you are coming with us."

"What? No, I don't think so. I came here to find out where Demons had been disappearing to. I know now, and now I'm gonna go back home." He stated, keeping his guns out.

"We're in the middle of a crisis, and you said you fight these things for a living." I replied. "You're coming with us, conscious or not." Before he could reply, my fist met the side of his head. The guy was out cold before he hit the floor. I looked up to Kat, and shrugged apologetically.

"I'll go too. No need to knock me out." She said quickly. "Dante's just got a hot temper, and a single minded attitude. He'll help out once he realizes what's going on with you guys." She helped me carry Angel out of the facility, while Skye hefted Dante over a shoulder, his MSR slung by a strap over the other. Raiden escorted the guards that he managed to save, and met us outside the lab in a big, open area.

_ "Dropship has arrived." _Sonata's voice said. As we boarded, she asked me, _"Did you kill that big demon? I no longer read it on my scanners." _

"No. Get this- it spoke, and it said that they 'got what they came for'. However, two civilians showed up during the fight, and one of them said he fights these for a living. They're with us on the harrier."

_"They got what they came for… troubling, but I'd call this mission success. Good job, Skyrunners. Report to base for debriefing."_

_~Meanwhile, unknown location~_

**"So, you have brought me what I had requested?" **A feminine voice, but demonic in nature, asked of the Hunter Demon before it. The demon did not speak out of respect, and instead held up a small tube full of a green liquid. **"Very good, my child. With a few more items, the citizens of this world will be lost."**

** "Yes… lost in their own grand Delusion."**

_~End of chapter~_

Author's Note: I'm back, bitches! ~Nano


	5. An Honest Request

_~An Honest Request~_

_April 30__th__  
2:23 pm  
The Pentagon - Lower Research Labs, Floor 2  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

"So, thanks to the corpses you were able to recover, I have had major advances in our understanding of these demons." Sonata began, as I stood around a table with an open 'archangel' corpse with the rest of my squad. Angel, due to the nature of her injury, was still wrapped in gauze, but could move around. It would be a while longer until she was fit for active duty, however. She placed a tray next to the demon's body, and it carried two small organs; one red and one blue, both looking akin to a small kidney. "These glands are the most troubling factor."

"How so?" Skye asked.

"The glands were recovered from immature 'hellhound' demons." She said, referring to the ones we first encountered. "The glands are impervious to all forms of influence, save for one. And it is different for the colors. The red glands have only suffered tissue damage from doses of radiation, but the blue ones… they have taken tissue damage from the bio-foam in your medkits."

"It's wounded by something that heals you? What the fuck…" Raiden muttered. Angel nodded in agreement.

"How does the knowledge of the glands effect our combat against them?" Angel said, looking quizzically at the blue one.

"Nothing yet, but if the glands were to be in a mature specimen… well, they could cause the entire creature to attain the effects of the gland." That could be a problem. We don't have handheld access to radiation, and we'd have to give up a canister of medicine to kill the other.

"How about our guest and captive?" I asked. "I think Kat has been a help in solving this mystery."

"She has, I have to admit." Sonata continued with her speech. "She came up with the idea to try the bio-foam, after all. Dante, on the other hand, has been uncooperative since his retrieval, shall we say, and has shown me the middle finger of his right hand fifty-four times." She adjusted her lab coat and grabbed the tray, taking it away from the corpse of the demon. "However, because of this, I make a simple request for you all."

"What would that be?" Angel asked. "You want us to search for a mature 'hellhound' that has one of these glands, I'm guessing?"

Sonata nodded. "I want you to bring me back a specimen that has the gland, is mature or is close to it, and keep it alive." Her request hit us like a nuke.

"WHAT?!" Everyone (even Skye) exclaimed.

"Well, our understanding of, and therefore combat effectiveness against, these demons would improve dramatically if I had a live specimen to… examine." She said the last word with a small amount of sadistic lust. As much a benefit to the team she is, Sonata scares me sometimes. "If you do this for me, we'd fare better against the demons as a whole."

"…When do I get my cyanide pill..?" Skye wondered.

_~Two days later - Pike's Peak, Colorado - Operation "Hell's Coming Home"~_

"Drop in three… two… one… mark!" I shouted, as Raiden and Skye joined me in our descent. Angel was still not cleared medically, but was to be released from the infirmary in a day or two. The mountain we were landing on had recent Demon activity, and we were expected to capture one of these things alive. Sometimes I just _love _my job.

We hit the ground just above the tree line. Air was thinner this high up, and I felt the effects of the different elevation almost instantly. My breaths were longer, and I could tell Raiden wasn't used to the high altitudes pretty easily. He proceeded to retch and vomit up his breakfast behind a rock. "Remind me not to have beans before a drop." He muttered, taking out his weapon.

"You were the one who insisted on having them." I reminded him. I tapped the radio on my head. "Sonata, this is Dirge. We've made landfall, and are proceeding to investigate the area for 'hellhounds'. Copy?"

_"I hear you loud and clear." _Her voice said. _"If my predictions are correct, you'll know the correct specimen by fur color. The red-gland species should have a reddish or brownish hue, while the blue-gland species should have a bluish or ghostly white appearance."_

"Copy. I'll send a visual when we get one." My hands instinctively brought up a weapon other than my trusty shotgun. Missions that require long sight distances, like this search-and-capture one, require a scoped gun. And so, the SVU-AS marksman rifle was a good counterpart to my usual KSG, and the 4.5x zoom scope fulfilled my lack of ranged combat.

We started to climb up the mountain, eyes and ears open and alert for any activity. A little ways from the peak, Skye nudged my shoulder and pointed to a small depression in the ground. 'Hellhounds' could be seen in the ground, feasting on what used to be the local wildlife. True to Sonata's prediction, there was one in the group that had blue-tinged fur. I indicated it to my comrades as Skye took a photo of it and sent that to Sonata. "There's our target. Any ideas on how to knock it unconscious?"

"Let's make things go boom." Raiden offered, pulling out a grenade. "If they can only be hurt by medicine, then the explosion from a grenade shouldn't hurt much." Before I could tell him how dumb his idea was, he pulled the pin and threw the small egg-shaped explosive at the demons. The explosion wiped out a few of them, and the others now had their attention on us.

Skye and I quickly shouldered our rifles and fired, taking out as many as we could. Raiden hurled another grenade before pulling out his own weapon, and fired upon the advancing 'hellhounds'. When they actually reached us, only our target remained. It was unscathed from the grenade explosions and gunfire.

"Any ideas?" I asked as it howled, spinning in the air before shooting itself at me. I dived out of the way, only to hear it roar in frustration when I got back up. Raiden was on top of it, pinning it to the ground.

"Call in the evac, we got the damn thing. Sonata owes me a drink when we get back." He said. The demon under him writhed around, but stayed put. Skye came over and bashed the stock of his sniper rifle into the side of its head, knocking it out.

"Sonata?" I said into the comm. "We got one. Mission accomplished. Just don't expect us to do this again anytime soon."

_"Copy that, Dirge. I'll only ask after this one… expires." _I shook my head, amazed and angered by our scientist.

_~Mission Accomplished~_

_Operatives/Allies Lost/Wounded: 0  
Civilians Killed: 0  
Demons Killed: 14x 'Hellhound'  
Demons Captured: 1x 'Blue Hellhound'  
Collateral Damage: Minimal_

_Overall Rating: Excellent_


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I'm back. F**K YEAH! ~Nano

_~Nephilim~_

_May 4__th__  
8:34 am  
The Pentagon – Lower Research Labs – Demon Containment Unit  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

As it turns out, Sonata was many things, but a good animal caretaker was not one of them. Two days after we had brought back the captive demon, it had died in her care. What was more disturbing was that "Everything went as I had planned it." She had said. "The hellhound had indeed given us more information than we possibly could have imagined."

"And if I may ask, what would that be, Doctor?" A man said. Commander Daniel was the person appointed to oversee any and all research and operations concerning the new demon threat. In terms anyone could understand, he was our new boss as of our last mission. "These soldiers put themselves in great risk to get this captive for you, and what do you do? Put implants in its brain and kill it within forty-eight hours."

"Yes, but it was what was inside its head that really bothers me…" Sonata continued. She pulled out a photograph, one that showed many more hellhounds being led by a strange creature. It looked almost human, save for the featureless mask of a face and the strange, alien aura. It carried two swords, and seemed to be giving orders. "This picture seems to tell us that there are powerful beings in these demon's hierarchy that act as leaders. As we have not seen any yet, we can only speculate as to how they act. This photo was directly correlated to this next thought of the subject." She pulled out another photo, but this one seemed ordinary.

"What exactly is new about this photo, Doctor?" The commander asked of her. His voice was powerful, and it was only a few seconds before Sonata answered.

"Look here." She pointed to a small part of the picture, where a hellhound seemed to have been cut in half. She pulled out one last image, and it was an enlarged version of that area.

"Is that… Dante?" I asked, recognizing the whitish hair and the red coat. The weapon he was using was a large gray sword, which would explain why he was reaching for something on his back when we first saw him at the Nightfall base. "Why would this demon have a memory of Dante?"

"He did mention that he fought demons for a living." The now-medically-released Angel commented. "Maybe this demon knows him for killing an ally or something?"

"Regardless, this photo shows that there is indeed a correlation between Dante and these demons. I recommend interrogating him as soon as possible." Sonata said. She took one look at the commander's worried face, and added, "No, not my interrogations. A more… traditional approach. Dante is more valuable to us alive."

"But he hasn't talked to us at all. He's refused to cooperate, and does not communicate to us at all besides showing us the bird." Angel said. "How could we get him to talk?"

"Trust me, I could get him to talk. Ready a training ring for us." Raiden said.

"Why do you need a training ring?" The Commander asked.

"Because I know the type of guy Dante is. A guy who loves action and kicking ass." Raiden replied as he stepped out of the room. "And I'm just like that." I turned to the others, who merely shrugged. The Commander simply nodded, and went to relay commands to a comm. pad. Within an hour, I was standing around an old-fashioned boxing ring in the training area of a compound not too far off from the Pentagon. Around me were the rest of my team Daniel, and about thirty armed guards. In the ring itself were Raiden and Dante, both of them shirtless and staring each other down.

"So, why exactly are you letting me beat the crap out of you?" Dante asked.

"Because I can tell you need to let off some steam. Come on, then." Raiden jabbed forward, but Dante grabbed his arm. The left arm of Raiden then slammed into his opponent's ribs, sending Dante to the ground. "What? You're telling me that the great demon hunter can't take a weak little jab?"

"He'll wish he hadn't said that…" Kat said from nearby. Dante pushed out with his feet, tripping Raiden and causing the guy to slam his head on the mat with a loud *crack* sound. Blood pooled form his face, and even though I wasn't a med expert, even I could tell that nose was broken. Raiden tried to get up, but Dante simply kicked him back down.

"Nobody insults me, what I do, or how I do it." He said. Daniel looked about ready to restrain him when the alarm sounded in the base. "The fuck is that?"

"Sir, transmission from Control." A soldier said, handing a datapad to the Commander. "It's urgent."

_"Commander, the demons are attacking several major cities, including New York, Denver, and Los Angeles. We need to scramble strike teams __now.__" _The voice hadn't finished speaking before I started giving orders.

"Skye, on me. Angel, you good enough to fight?" I asked. The female soldier simply clutched her still-bandaged ribs, and nodded. "Good. Raiden's in no condition to go, though…" I approached Daniel. "Sir, with your permission, I want Dante to come with us on this one."

"Why is that?" He responded, already giving out orders through his datapad.

"He broke my other operative's face, and he owes the Skyrunnners as a result." I thought for a second, and added on, "Also, we need him to like us, for the sake of the information he knows. If we let him come on a mission with us, he may just become more friendly towards us."

The Commander simply stared for a moment, then shouted, "Dante!" Getting the pale-haired man's attention, he added, "Sargent Dakol here will take you to our armory. Get your ass in gear and get to it. Consider it your punishment for rendering the private over there immobile." He turned to me. "You're headed for New York. Try to avoid civilian casualties."

"Sir, yes Sir!" Skye, Angel, and I saluted before leaving the training room.

_~Fifteen minutes later, Harrier passenger bay~_

"Ugh. Remind me why I'm wearing this, again?" Dante complained form his spot next to me. He was in standard-issue Kevlar armor, same as what I was wearing, as was Skye. Due to her injury, Angel was in full riot armor – it would limit her mobility, but would increase the chance her stomach wouldn't get worse.

"To protect you. Now shut up so I can focus." Skye said. He was busy cleaning the barrel of his sniper rifle, the rest of the weapon lying at his feet. Angel was reading out of her pocket novel, oblivious to the rest of us.

"Listen, just because it's not your jacket doesn't mean it doesn't work." I said.

"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be so tight and ugly and-"He was cut off when a sniper bullet struck his cheek. An unfired one, still in its shell.

"Complain again and the next will come at you just a little bit faster." Skye said solemnly. Dante was silent for the rest of the trip.

_~Begin Operation Shattered Apple~_

_May 4__th__  
4:49 pm  
Times Square  
Jeremy "Dirge" Dakol_

"Go, Go, Go!" The Harrier pilot shouted as we touched down. The dense city buildings made our usual method of entry impossible. Once we got onto the pavement, we saw the true nature of what was happening.

"I'm pretty sure that shouldn't look like that." Dante said as he pointed to the streets. The asphalt was cracked, with a dark energy seeping through them. It glowed a dark green, a sickly color of illness.

"Contact. Three blocks west." Skye muttered. "Looks like a big one." The contact in question was a similar demon to the one at the Nightfall facility, flanked by several Stygians. Skye shouldered his rifle, and zoomed through the scope. I followed suit with a pair of binoculars. They appeared to be bowing.

"What the hell… They have allegiance to someone?" There were two figures opposite them. A demon with burning green hair and jet-black skin, and a man with cyan hair and glowing white eyes. The latter was familiar to me. "It's that guy from the Pentagon attack!" Looking around, I noticed a solitary, white haired figure approaching them. "…And Dante. Fuck. Alright, team, move in. Target the demons with killing shots, but the man with the blue hair and the green demon are targets for capture."

A sniper shot rang out, caving in the skulls of three Stygians. I rushed forward with Angel, catching the tail end of a conversation involving Dante. "Siding yourself with humans again, brother? Your mistake will not be made twice!"

The green demon spoke with an alluring voice, almost trancelike. **"Come, Vergil. We have what we need from here. Hunter, be a dear and take us back home? And the rest of you, clean up this filth." **The large demon, apparently name Hunter, grabbed the two figures and vanished in a puff of purple smoke. There wasn't time to call in that development, however, when the enemy descended upon us.

Skye's sniper rounds were invaluable, as he shot down demon after demon from the wreckage in Times Square. Angel held her own, well enough. Dante and I stood back to back as our shotguns rang out, dropping demons by the dozens. "So, that went according to plan." I said to Dante. "Just waltz up there without the rest of us, expect everything to go your way."

"That's how it worked in the past!" He shouted back, blasting another demon back. "Wish I had my sword, at least."

"Stop whining and start shooting straight!" I ducked underneath the swing of a Stygian's blade-arm, and jammed my shotgun into its armpit and fired. The gun clicked empty afterwards, prompting me to fumble around for shells to reload. "Shit, I'm out!" I yelled, finding none. I threw my shotgun at the nearest Demon, causing a nice dent in its porcelain head. I reached to my thigh, grabbing the sidearm that was there and firing at will.

"Help! Somebody Help!" A voice shouted. It came from the building behind us, as Demons started to pour out of it. The wall burst forth, revealing a very large, and very fat, demon clutching a woman in its hand. "Help me!" Were the woman's last words as the demon squeezed, and threw the limp body aside.

"Fucking Tyrant!" Dante shouted. He and I charged the beast as it charged back. It swiped me away with a single strike, but Dante managed to dodge the attack, circling the beast and blasting his twin pistols into its back. As it turned to face him, I saw why; the thing's back had a video game-esque weak spot, glowing and everything. Aiming up, I shot several rounds into its back before a sniper shot rang out. The Tyrant fell to the ground, its head following not long after.

_"Team, there appears to be more enemy signatures in the area. I'm sending in another strike team to assist." _Daniel said over the comm. _"Sargent, I want you to go in that building and check for other survivors."_

"Roger, command. Proceeding with new orders." I headed into the building, not prepared for what I saw. The Tyrant obviously had his fill of carnage, as the dead lay strewn about the building, and rubble littered all over the place. The stench of death almost made me gag, as there was just so much of it. "Hello!?" I called out. "Anyone still alive in here? I'm Sargent Dakol, I'm with the military! I'm here to help you!"

"…please… help us…" a weak sounding voice came. Turning towards it, I saw three young teens, obviously battered and very much hurt. Only the girl who was talking was conscious, her two friends anything but. I shoved aside some of the wreckage, exposing the teens. The girl shakily stood up. Her most striking feature was her bright, piercing green eyes. "Thank you… can you help these two as well?"

"Miss, that's what I'm here for." I said. "Command, this is Dakol. I have survivors, two of them unconscious. I'm requesting evac for them asap." A confirmation went out on the other line, and I turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Trixie, Sir."

_Operation Shattered Apple Complete_

_Operatives KIA – none – Excellent  
Demons Killed:  
30x "Stygian"  
14x "Archangel"  
1x "Tyrant"  
45 total – Excellent  
Civilian Casualties – 37 confirmed KIA, speculated dozens more – Poor  
Civilians Rescued - 3 – Good_

_Overall Evaluation: Good_

Sonata's Notes:

Although many civilians died today, I still feel our mission was a success. Not only did we repel the demons, but we also recovered valuable intel on the enemy's hierarchy. Apparently, two figures give out orders – A human-looking man with cyan hair and glowing eyes, who carries a katana, and a demoness with black skin and acid-green eyes, clothing, and aura. The successful live capture of either of these two is of the upmost importance. Meanwhile, I will continue to examine this new specimen recovered. It is most intriguing, as its own subspecies. This… 'Tyrant' will prove invaluable for researching advanced armors for our anti-demon troops.

End of Line.


End file.
